More Mirrorless Soon?

[Mike Farley]

Another assessment of the camera market from Thom Hogan. Will Canon finally introduce a serious mirrorless option early next year?

http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/whi ... right.html

[Paul Heester]

Interesting article as I know you are a fan of mirrorless. I thought this quote was interesting

The pond is drying up for interchangeable lens cameras for a reason, and it doesn’t have to do with whether the camera has a mirror in it or not.

Personally I think the boom of the last 10 years has come to an end for DSLRs as far as sales are concerned. Phones and compacts have really upped their game and the casual enthusiast will find enough in these devices to keep them happy. As always if they want to take their photography to another level then an interchangeable lens camera (be it DSLR or mirrorless) is the next step. However, the constant churn of new products in this area will slow down, its crazy the number of camera models that are released on an almost-monthly basis.

[Mike Farley]

Interesting article as I know you are a fan of mirrorless.

I would not put it quite that way, more that I have gradually moved towards smaller and lighter cameras when I found my DSLR gear was getting too heavy. It just so happens that the best solution for me at the time was to be found with mirrorless cameras. At first, I just had a small amount of m/43 gear for occasional use, but that has grown into a compact and (relatively) inexpensive "walkaround" kit covering most focal lengths and the DSLR gear stays at home. Getting an Olympus E-M10 earlier this year was quite a revelation and despite its "budget" status, is a very capable piece of kit for most of my needs.

Back in the days of film, a camera model would stay current for many years, but that all changed with the introduction of digital. In the early days, rapid replacement of older models brought worthwhile enhancements, but that changed a long time ago. A camera that is five or six years old can hold its own with most of today's models unless high ISO performance or large print size are priorities. Whilst it was an exception, Canon's original 7D remained current for five years and the Mk II model will have to offer significant improvements to tempt upgraders. That's a real problem for the manufacturers who are busily trying to fill every niche they can think of in the pursuit of sales.

I suspect that I will continue with mirrorless, although the new Panasonic LX100 has its attractions. It would cover many of the situations where I am making photos, although not at the telephoto end. Technically it is not mirrorless as although it uses a m/43 sensor, it is actually a fixed lens compact. Unfortunately, Panasonic has chosen to omit certain important features such as a touch screen that tilts, no doubt saving those for a future iteration/churn.

[Mike Farley]

Personally I think the boom of the last 10 years has come to an end for DSLRs as far as sales are concerned. Phones and compacts have really upped their game and the casual enthusiast will find enough in these devices to keep them happy. As always if they want to take their photography to another level then an interchangeable lens camera (be it DSLR or mirrorless) is the next step. However, the constant churn of new products in this area will slow down, its crazy the number of camera models that are released on an almost-monthly basis.

This article by Thom Hogan neatly sums up the camera manufacturers' dilemma. Sensor performance is already good enough and the only way manufacturers can innovate is by enhancing other features, hence the pro spec AF on the 7D Mk II. Hogan has put the bar at the current level of APS-C sensor performance, but in reality even that is more than most people need. My pictures come in for plenty of criticism, but technical quality due to using lesser cameras does not feature.

http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/did ... e-bar.html